When you decide to breed livestock, the question often comes up, do you want to breed registered stock? Or forget all that paperwork?
There are pros and cons either way.
We raise Nigerian Dwarf goats. When we first started out, we decided the smart thing to do is buy quality stock from a quality breeder to get us started off on the right foot. I'm so glad we did.
As with any new skill, raising goats has come with its learning curve.
There have been ups and downs. Starting off with quality animals helped remove some of the possible downs though. My does are all good milkers, have great temperaments, and have good body structure and udders.
Our main goal with raising goats is not to make money, however, but to have a source of fresh, raw milk. We don't really need papers for that.
In order to make that milk, babies have to be born. When babies are born, eventually you will have to figure out what to do with them. Naturally, the answer is to sell them. Here's the thing: there is a group of people who don't care about registration. I've had many people say they don't need that paperwork, the goat will be a pet, or a family milker.
However...
There is a larger group of people who DO care about the registration. Maybe they want to breed 4H animals, maybe they show their animals, or maybe they just want the registration as an option to command a higher price on their future babies.
Here's the way I see it:
I don't care about paperwork. Yes, it makes it easy to see the background of the goat and check lineage. That is helpful, especially in a large-scale operation, but here, where we are just making milk with our small herd, it doesn't do much for us. That being said, if we did NOT register, we would lose a large section of our possible buyers. Many people will not consider buying a non-registered goat. So, to have a wider selection of buyers, and to be able to ask a higher price, and find homes for our babies faster, we opted to register all ours.
Now, I have retained two does from previous kiddings, and both of them are FABULOUS milkers! (They outdo their mothers!) I never got around to registering them! Both does are about 3 years old now, and quite pregnant.
This is Ella. Here she is with her last kids:
This is Luna. She does not like me. That's okay though, she is a good mother, has beautiful babies, and allows me to milk her. That's all I need from her.
I have not really had issues selling their unregistered babies, but they do not sell as fast as the registered ones, for sure. I have had many people say, "Wow, their babies are SO beautiful! Too bad they're not registered!"
Well, this year is different! I have finally registered these gals!
Kidding season is fast approaching! Now those people who want babies like this can snap them up without moaning about papers:
